The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses such as personal computers, and more particularly it relates to information processing apparatuses accommodating function units that generate heat and need shock resistance.
Conventionally, information processing apparatuses including personal computers have accommodated a plurality of function units, e.g., a hard-disc drive (HDD) that is an external storage device, in its housing. A portable information processing apparatus, generally called an A-4 size personal computer, in particular, has prepared a shock absorbing structure for an HDD, which is vulnerable to shocks, in order to have shock resistance.
An information processing apparatus including a conventional housing unit with a shock absorbing structure is described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 shows a perspective appearance of an information processing apparatus, and FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of an HDD housing unit. In those drawings, the information processing apparatus includes main housing unit 1 that houses housing section 11 where function units are accommodated. One of the function units is HDD 2, which is completely housed in metal housing 3 made of highly stiff metal such as stainless steel. Metal housing 3 comprises upper case 31 and lower case 32. Shock absorbing member 4, e.g., soft elastomer or spongy urethane, is provided to a space entirely or partially between metal housing 3 and HDD 2. Metal housing 3 is accommodated in housing section 11 within main housing 1 of the information processing apparatus.
When the foregoing conventional portable information processing apparatus receives an external shock during hand-carrying, shock absorbing member 4 absorbs the shock, so that the shock does not travel to HDD2 housed in housing section 11 of main housing 1. As such, accommodation of disc-drive devices, such as HDD 2 vulnerable to shocks, in main housing 1 of the information processing apparatus involves the shock absorbing member.
On the other hand, disc-drive devices, one of the function units, including an HDD generate heat in operation. The heat is desirably dissipated outside in order to prevent the heat from adversely affecting the disc-drive device per se or peripheral electronic components. However, the shock absorbing member has low heat conductivity, thus it is difficult to dissipate efficiently the heat generated from HDD 2 outside the metal housing and further outward. HDD 2 is resultantly suffered from a higher temperature than a specification temperature. In order to overcome this problem, metallic filler is added into shock absorbing member, so that the heat conductivity is increased. This method, however, increases a hardness of the shock absorbing member, thereby lowering shock-absorbing capacity.
Japanese patent application non-examined publication No. 2001-10661 discloses that heat from a CPU of a portable information processing apparatus is dissipated from a display section with a soft heat-conductive member. However, this prior art does not disclose a method of satisfying both of shock absorbing capacity and heat dissipating capacity.
The present invention addresses the problems discussed above, and aims to provide an information processing apparatus equipped with a shock absorbing structure that can dissipate heat generated from function units housed in a main housing of the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes a heat conductive element and a plane-like good heat-conductive member that contacts both to the heat conductive element and the function units.